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This page is for CELO holders deciding where to place their validator-election votes. Selecting organizations that operate well-run infrastructure is essential for Celo’s long-term success, and voters make that decision by locking CELO and voting for validator groups.
TerminologyThe term “validator” is used in the code and corresponding explanation due to historical reasons, but refers to the community RPC providers.

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The role of validators

Validators historically produced blocks on the Celo L1; after the L2 migration they serve the network as community RPC providers. The Celo community decides who fills this role by locking CELO and voting for Validator Groups, intermediaries that sit between voters and Validators. Every Validator Group has an ordered list of up to 5 candidate Validators. Some organizations may operate a group with their own Validators in it; some may operate a group to which they have added Validators run by others.
If you would like to keep up-to-date with all the news happening in the Celo community, including validation, node operation and governance, please sign up to our Celo Signal mailing list here.You can add the Celo Signal public calendar as well which has relevant dates.

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Validator elections

Validator elections are held every epoch (approximately once per day). At each epoch, every elected Validator must be re-elected to continue. Validators are selected in proportion to votes received for each Validator Group. If you hold CELO, or are a beneficiary of a ReleaseGold contract that allows voting, you can vote for Validator Groups. A single account can split their LockedGold balance to have outstanding votes for up to 10 groups. CELO that you lock and use to vote for a group that elects one or more Validators receives epoch rewards every epoch (approximately every day). Unlike a number of Proof of Stake protocols, CELO used for voting is never at risk. The actions of the Validator Groups or Validators you vote for can cause you to receive lower or higher rewards, but the CELO you locked will always be available to be unlocked in the future. Penalties in the Celo protocol apply only to Validators and Validator Groups.

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Choosing a validator group

As a CELO holder, you have the opportunity to impact the Celo network by voting for Validator Groups. It is crucial that voters choose groups that contribute to both the technical health of the network, as well as the community. Some factors to consider when deciding which Validator Group to vote for include:

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Technical

  • Proven identity: Validators and groups can supply verifiable DNS claims. You can use these to securely identify that the same entity has access both to the account of a Validator or group and the supplied DNS records.
  • Can receive votes: Validator Groups can receive votes up to a certain voting cap. You cannot vote for groups with a balance that would put it beyond its cap.
  • Will get elected: CELO holders only receive voter rewards during an epoch if their CELO is used to vote for a Validator Group that elects at least one Validator during that epoch. Put another way, your vote does not contribute to the network or earning you rewards if your group does not receive enough other votes to elect at least one Validator.
  • Reliable: Voter rewards depend on the performance of the elected Validators in the group for which the vote was made. Nodes that fail to meet their obligations are subject to penalties, which also reduce the rewards of the group’s voters.
  • No recent penalties: When Validators and groups register, their Locked CELO becomes “staked”, in that it is subject to penalties for conduct that could seriously adversely affect the health of the network. Voters’ Locked CELO is never at risk, but voter rewards are affected by penalties applied to the group or its Validators.

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Community

  • Promotes the Celo mission: Celo’s mission is to build a monetary system that creates the conditions of prosperity for all. Consider Validator Groups that further this mission through their own activities or initiatives around financial inclusion, education and sustainability.
  • Broadens Diversity: The Celo community aims to be inclusive to the largest number of contributors, with the most varied and diverse backgrounds possible. Support that diversity by considering what new perspectives and strengths the teams you support offer. As well as the backgrounds and experiences of the team, consider that the network security and availability is improved by Validators operating at different network locations, on different platforms, and with different toolchains.
  • Contributes to Celo: Support Validator Groups that strengthen the Celo developer community, for example through building or operating services for the Celo ecosystem, participating actively in on-chain governance, and answering questions and supporting others, on Discord or the Forum.

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The Celo Foundation voting policy

As described above, there are many criteria to consider when deciding which group to vote for. While it is highly recommended that all CELO holders do their independent research when deciding which group to vote for, another option is to vote for Validator Groups that have received votes from the Celo Foundation. The Celo Foundation follows a validator group voting policy when voting with the CELO that it holds. This policy has been developed by the Foundation board and technical advisors with the express goal of promoting the long-term security and decentralization of the network. Validator Groups have an opportunity to apply for Foundation votes every 3 months, and a new cohort is selected based on past performance and contributions. You can find the full set of Validator Groups currently receiving votes, and their addresses linked here.

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Validator explorers

The Celo ecosystem includes a number of great services for browsing registered Validator Groups and Validators.
Warning: Exercise caution in relying on Validator-supplied names to determine their real-world identity. Malicious participants may attempt to impersonate other Validators in order to attract votes.Validators and groups can also supply verifiable DNS claims, and validator explorers display these. You can use these to securely identify that the same entity has access both to the account of a Validator or group and the supplied DNS records.

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Celo Mondo Validator Explorer (cLabs)

The Celo Mondo “Staking” tab displays information for Mainnet Validators.

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Celovote Scores (WOTrust | celovote.com)

Celovote shows a ranking of Validator groups based on their estimated annual rate of return (ARR). The estimate is calculated based on past performance.

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Vido (Atalma)

Vido is a node monitoring suite for Celo with subscribable metrics to get alerted if your node stops performing.
  • Locked CELO - the lock-vote-activate flow for casting these votes
  • Validator groups - how groups work and how they are compensated
  • Key management - authorizing a vote signer so votes never expose the locking key